Archive for the ‘walnuts’

As I have stated before in this blog, I’m not a fan of eggplant. I don’t care for the taste, texture, and several bad experiences as a child have all left me wary of this particular nightshade. However, over the years I have come to appreciate eggplant in two – YES! – two dishes; Baba Ghannouj and Makdous.

Makdous is ubiquitous all over the Middle East. It can be eaten for breakfast (the most common way) or as a mezze.

I’ve been searching for an actual origin story for this dish, but haven’t been able to find one. No doubt it came, like most preserved foods, out of sheer necessity to get people through until the next harvest.

There is an odd alchemy that happens with Makdous during the preservation process. While it is generally known that you don’t store raw garlic in olive oil, especially at room temperature, it seems to work just fine in this recipe. It could be the mixture of the nuts, salt, and pepper along with the alkaline nature of the eggplant. You can store Makdous in the refrigerator or at room temperature in the pantry (as I’ve always seen my dad do).

There are several ways Makdous can be prepared. One constant is the eggplant should be blanched and drained before stuffing. Some drain the eggplant by stuffing it first, placing it in the jar, then turning the jar over to let the liquid drain out; others will cut a slit in the eggplant, lay it slit side down, then let it drain overnight. I use the latter method. (There is only one time I’ve seen a recipe that simply salted the eggplant and let it drain without cooking.) Always use small or baby eggplant. The baby eggplant will be more tender, sweeter, and less apt to be bitter. You’ll be able to find baby eggplant in abundance in any grocery that caters to the Middle Eastern community or, if you’re lucky, at the local farmers market or farm stand during the growing season. (In central Texas, we have eggplant from roughly June through the first frost in late October/early November.) There are also, of course, ingredient variations. Some will use pepper paste (like harissa), a combination of sweet & hot peppers, cayenne, parsley, lemon, chili powder, Feta cheese (although they don’t last as long), cilantro (coriander), pecans, and pomegranate seeds. The constants are always eggplant, walnuts, and salt.

This recipe was written in consultation with and advice from my dad. He is a Makdous connoisseur and, along with my mom, has made Makdous in the past. I just hope he likes this batch once I get a jar to him.

The ingredients.

Japanese Eggplant.

“Dancer” eggplant. This is what I used in the recipe. I got the smallest ones I could find.

2 lbs. baby eggplant or small Japanese eggplant

3 1/2 c. walnuts, chopped

15 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 tsp. Kosher or sea salt, or to taste

Olive Oil as needed

2 – 3 ea. quart-sized Mason ® jars with lids & rims, cleaned

Trim the tops of the eggplant, leaving the caps on. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the eggplants to the boiling water, turn off the heat, and let the eggplant sit in the water for 10 minutes. (I like to put a small plate on top of the eggplant to keep it submerged.)

Weighing down the eggplant.

After 10 minutes, drain the eggplant. Once it is cool enough to handle, cut a slit in one side (not all the way through and try to leave about 1″ at each end uncut). Lay the eggplant on a rack, cut side down, and let drain overnight.

The cut eggplant. Sadly, no. It doesn’t keep its color.

Draining the eggplant. Some people will weigh the eggplant down at this point to drain out as much liquid as possible. I generally don’t; it’s up to you.

The next day, mix together the walnuts, garlic, pepper flakes, and salt. Taste for seasoning and adjust as you like.

The stuffing. It’s almost like a nut pesto.

Fill each eggplant with some of the stuffing. You want to get as much as you can in the eggplant without splitting them. (You may have some stuffing left over; that’s OK. It actually goes great on pasta or spread on a good crusty piece of bread.)

The (over) stuffed eggplant.

Place as many of the stuffed eggplant as you can in a Mason Jar with minimal crushing. Slowly add the olive oil to cover the eggplant. Set the jars on a rimmed baking sheet lined with a thick layer of paper towels or a dish towel you don’t really care about. Place the lid (only!) on the top of the jar. Place the baking sheet with the jars in a cool, dark place and let sit for 1 week.

The Makdous ready for preserving. Note how it’s just the lid on the jar, not the rim. You want to allow the moisture to escape.

There will be some overflow from the jars. This is due to the moisture (mainly water) escaping and overflowing the jar. Simply check to be sure the oil is covering everything in the jar.

After 3 days. Notice how yellow the towels are. That’s the excess moisture and some olive oil escaping the jar. You may also see some bubbles. This is from the water and air escaping and it’s normal.

After 1 week, carefully clean off the rim of the jar, tighten the lid with the rim, and wash off any oil residue off the jar.

I believe this is after 10 days. (We went on vacation.) I cleaned off the rim of the jar, put on the lid rims, then washed the residue off the jars.

The Makdous is now ready to eat. You can store it in the refrigerator (just let it come to room temperature before eating) or in a cool, dark pantry for up to one year as long as the contents are always covered in olive oil and the lid & rim are sealed tightly.

The origin story of Waldorf Salad is a fairly straightforward and simple one. It was the creation of the long-time maitre d’ of the Waldorf Hotel (later to become the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel) in New York City, Oscar (“Oscar of the Waldorf”) Tschirky, in 1896. It became an instant favorite with diners at the hotel. Oscar, while not a chef, was the creator and inspiration of many of the dishes in the Waldorf’s first half-century. (He stayed with the hotel from 1893 until his retirement n 1943).

The original recipe consisted of simply apples, celery, and mayonnaise. Not long afterwards, walnuts were added and became an important component of the salad.

While I’ve stayed with the basic version of the salad, I have added my own variations as well. Somewhere along the way, I thought, why not add some blue cheese? It goes well with apples and walnuts as well as cutting some of the sweetness of the dried fruit. Besides, I just like blue cheese.

A few notes:

1. I like to use a mix of apples. As always, whenever I use apples in a recipe, Granny Smith apples are my base. I’ll add Pink Ladies, Gala, MacIntosh, or, if I’m feeling extravagant, Honeycrisp. The flavor contrast works well.

2. I’ve used both walnuts and pecans in this recipe. It just depends what I have on hand.

3. If you want to use yogurt in the salad, I would recommend going half-and-half with the mayonnaise. Yogurt alone would be too strong a flavor. Also, use a full-fat yogurt. Fat-free – yuk.

4. My preferred blue cheese in this recipe is either Amish Blue or Maytag Blue. These are both excellent American blue cheeses and are readily available. European-style blue cheeses (i.e. Stilton, Gorgonzola, Roquefort, Cabrales), while delicious, are simply too strong.

5. I don’t peel my apples. You shouldn’t either.

6. I use very little celery in my recipe. Unlike the original recipe, I use it for flavoring, not as a main component. However, if you prefer to use more celery, feel free.

7. To make this dish vegan, simply omit the cheese (if you still want the cheese flavor, use nutritional yeast to taste), and use vegan mayonnaise.

The Ingredients

Granny Smith and Pink Lady Apples

Maytag Blue Cheese. Good stuff.

Walnuts. Not my favorite nut, but they work well here.

4 lg. apples, approx. 1 1/2 – 2 lbs.

1 lg. stalk celery, finely diced

1 1/2 c. walnuts or pecans, chopped (If you would like to toast them, put the nuts in a 350F oven for 5 – 7 minutes. Let cool before adding to the salad.)

1. Cut and core the apples. I like to use a melon baller to core out the apple and cut out the blossom and stem ends with a “v” shape cut. With the flat side down, cut the apple in to 1/2-inch thick slices. Then, with 2 – 3 slices laying flat on the cutting board, cut the apples into 1/2-inch dice. Place the apples into the bowl.

I find using a melon baller very effective for coring apples. Plus, it’s safer than either a knife or an apple corer. (I frankly find apple corers to be completely useless.)

Core. Out.

Remove the stem and blossom ends by cutting out a v-shaped piece at each end.

Blossom end cut out.

Apples cored, cleaned, and ready

2. Add the celery, nuts, and dried fruit. Toss together.

All mixed together.

3. Add the cheese and mayonnaise. Mix together until well incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Ready.

4. Traditionally, Waldorf Salad is served on a bed of lettuce. I generally don’t. However, if you would like to, go ahead. I like to serve the salad with crackers or a good crusty bread.